Kitchen Drain Maintenance Tips to Prevent Drain Clogs

There are few things that get used as much in your house as your kitchen sink. It is where you do the majority of your meal preparation and then the cleanup that goes along with that. With that being said, it is also an area that gets a lot of abuse as far as what goes down the drain; grease, vegetable trimmings and other solids often will build up in the kitchen drain and eventually cause the line to drain slowly or get stopped up altogether. Here are some routine kitchen drain maintenance steps that you can easily do yourself to keep your all-important kitchen drain flowing smoothly.

Prevention

The first thing you want to do as far as kitchen drain maintenance is concerned is to be careful not to do things that may cause the drain to back up. First of all, no matter how convenient it may be, NEVER pour hot grease into the kitchen drain; use a can or a jar to store it in and then throw it out or take it to be recycled when its full. When cutting vegetables and fruits in the sink be sure to peel or cut them over a colander or some type of drain screen. Little things can go a long way when it comes to keeping your kitchen drain clean.

Hot Water

Hot water can be your drain’s best friend. No matter how meticulous you are at preparing foods or draining the grease from dishes and pans, you can never keep 100% of these things out of your kitchen drain line. About once a month you should heat some water on the stove until it’s very hot (not boiling because this could hurt the seals between the pipes and drain fixtures) and pour it down the drain slowly. This will help free up things like grease that can build up on pipes and slowly shut them down over time.

Trap cleaning

Your kitchen drain trap is the U-shaped section of pipe that is usually located in a cabinet under the kitchen sink. If you look at it closely you will see two union type connections on either side of it. These connections are designed to easily come apart so you can clean the drain line trap. This needs to be done periodically because this is where solids build up over time and will slow the drain down or clog it completely.

Natural Drain Cleaner

If you notice that your drain is starting to slow down then you can make a homemade natural drain cleaner to open the kitchen drain line back up. This is done by mixing vinegar and baking soda and then adding it into the drain. Let it sit overnight and then run some hot water into the drain the next morning and you should see it flowing freely again.

These are just a few kitchen drain maintenance tricks you can do to keep your kitchen drain flowing smoothly so it’s working for you when you go to use your kitchen sink.

Find us on LinkedIn

ABOUT US

Furnace-Repair-Edmonton.ca specializes in repairing, maintaining and installing furnaces and other heating systems. Serving Edmonton homeowners for 5 years, we have established a reputation for dependable service and trustworthy results.